SAVOY Azabu-Juban Honten is a renowned Neapolitan pizzeria that opened in March 2023 after relocating from the former SAVOY Azabu-Juban location. Supported by a broad customer base centered around guests in their mid-30s, the restaurant has also seen a steady year-on-year increase in overseas visitors. However, the restaurant had been facing challenges: the operational burden of managing reservations by phone and paper reservation book, and reception errors stemming from mishearings and missed details. With Respo, the restaurant has halved its phone-based reservation handling and eliminated reception errors — establishing an environment where the team can focus on truly essential work such as welcoming guests, cooking, and service, while sustaining strong reservation volumes.

**Challenges Before Adopting Respo**

SAVOY Azabu-Juban Honten had been facing the following on-site challenges.

■ The operational burden of phone-based reservations and paper reservation book

- The manager took reservations by phone and managed them by hand in a paper reservation book

- Depending on the time of day, the manager was often unavailable, forcing less-experienced part-time staff to handle calls

- Reservation handling required a lot to remember, placing considerable psychological and practical burden on young staff

- Phones felt like they rang every 5 minutes, and during busy periods it was often difficult to respond adequately

■ Reception errors from mishearings and missed details

- Handling reservations by phone and by hand made it easy for details such as name kanji, party size, and reservation times to be misheard or missed

- When inquiries or confirmation requests arose, off-duty staff sometimes had to check photos of the paper reservation book via LINE

- Missed details on items like celebration plate messages sometimes led to problems

■ The burden of handling no-shows and last-minute cancellations

- With a high volume of reservations, a certain number of no-shows and last-minute cancellations always occurred

- Staff had to contact guests directly to request or follow up on cancellation fees, which placed a significant psychological burden on the restaurant

- The risk of lost revenue from cancellations remained a persistent challenge in day-to-day operations

**Key Features of Respo**

"Respo" is an all-in-one platform for restaurants provided by Hello Inc., with its core functions available free of charge in Japan. It brings reservation book, channel manager, POS, payment terminals, and mobile ordering together on a single platform, and can be flexibly combined to match each restaurant's scale and business format.

■ What Respo Offers

- Reservation book: Integrates with multiple reservation platforms, eliminating manual transcription from each platform

- Channel manager: Centrally manages inventory across the restaurant's own site and other reservation platforms

- POS / Payment terminals: Complete checkout and payment in a single device, streamlining store operations

- Mobile ordering: Enables guests to order from their smartphone or tablet, reducing wait times

- Guest information management: Accumulates visit history, preferences, allergy information, and more, supporting tailored service for returning guests

**Outcomes After Adopting Respo**

■ Outcome 1: Halving phone-based reservation handling while sustaining strong reservation volumes

Phones that had felt like they rang every 5 minutes have dropped to roughly half that frequency since adopting Respo. At the same time, reservation volumes have not declined — the restaurant's 19-seat reservation slots continue to fill without issue. The staff time and effort that had been consumed by taking reservations can now be redirected to truly essential work such as welcoming guests, cooking, and service.

■ Outcome 2: Elimination of reception errors caused by mishearings and missed details

Details previously confirmed over the phone — such as allergies, special occasions, and celebration plate messages — can now be gathered in advance through the reservation form. Guest inputs are preserved as records, making confirmation errors and miscommunication far less likely. Combined with required-field settings, reservation-related mistakes have dropped to nearly zero since adoption. All staff can now view the same information in real time, eliminating the need for off-duty staff to check photos of paper reservation books during breaks.

■ Outcome 3: Automated cancellation fee collection, reducing revenue loss risk

For restaurants with high reservation volumes, a certain number of no-shows and last-minute cancellations are inevitable. Previously, contacting guests directly to request or follow up on cancellation fees placed a significant psychological burden on the restaurant. With Respo's automated cancellation fee collection mechanism in place, the restaurant no longer needs to reach out to guests directly for collection, and the risk of lost revenue is now properly protected.

■ Outcome 4: Smooth adoption by young staff and positive evaluation from headquarters

The simple workflow of "checking notifications and approving reservations" was quickly embraced by young staff who are familiar with iPad and smartphone operations. It requires less onboarding than teaching phone-based reservation handling from scratch, and staff have expressed that "things have become easier since adoption." Headquarters, initially cautious, now takes a very positive view of Respo after confirming that online reservations are coming in steadily and the site is operating smoothly.

**Comments from Mr. Kikuchi, Store Manager of SAVOY Azabu-Juban Honten**

We received the following comments from store manager Mr. Kikuchi.

> "To be honest, at first I felt that 'we can't build real relationships with guests unless we speak with them directly by phone.' But once we actually started using the system, we found that by exchanging detailed information through the reservation form in advance, we could spend more time on more meaningful communication when guests arrived — conversation and welcoming them. Digitalization doesn't push the restaurant and guests further apart; if anything, it brings us closer together."
── Mr. Kikuchi, Store Manager, SAVOY Azabu-Juban Honten

> "The biggest reason we decided to adopt Respo was their stance of 'thinking together with us,' close to our own operations, rather than treating deployment as the finish line. Because their sales representative came to visit us multiple times to address our questions and concerns in person, the system took root smoothly on-site — with young staff naturally saying things like 'it's much easier than learning phone-based reservation handling' and 'we're glad we adopted it.'"
── Mr. Kikuchi, Store Manager, SAVOY Azabu-Juban Honten

**Comment from Yuki Hariguchi, Representative Director, Hello Inc.**

> "What impressed us most about SAVOY Azabu-Juban Honten was their commitment to building 'a system that upholds a certain standard of taste and quality as an organization,' rather than relying on any single artisan's skill. Their signature pizza requires staged training and a test administered personally by the president — an uncompromising approach to technique and quality expressed not through individuals but through systems. We are deeply moved by this stance.
In restaurant operations, reservation handling too tends to become something 'only certain people can do.' We hope that Respo, by functioning as 'an operational foundation anyone can use' that doesn't depend on individual skill or experience, can create more time for front-line staff to focus on the work that truly matters. As SAVOY Azabu-Juban Honten takes on new challenges as a group, we will walk alongside them so that Respo can serve as one of the foundations supporting their journey."

**About the Case Study Article**

The full story has been published on the official Respo website as an interview with store manager Mr. Kikuchi. We invite you to read it.

▶ Case Study Article: "Sustaining Strong Reservations While Halving Phone-Based Handling: How SAVOY Azabu-Juban Honten Chose Respo to Create Breathing Room On-Site"
URL: [https://respo.autoreserve.com/ja-jp/cases/savoyazabujubanhonten](https://respo.autoreserve.com/ja-jp/cases/savoyazabujubanhonten)

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Respo

[Respo] Adopted by SAVOY Azabu-Juban Honten, a Renowned Neapolitan Pizzeria

Hello Inc. offers a new feature called "Terminal-less Payment" on "Respo," which allows customers to pay their bill using the credit card they registered at the time of their online reservation.

[https://respo.autoreserve.com/ja-jp](https://respo.autoreserve.com/ja-jp?utm_source=prtimes&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=terminal-less-payment)

Simply by turning this feature on, restaurants can immediately switch to online credit card payment even in the event of an unexpected issue, such as a sudden malfunction of an in-store payment terminal or a stoppage of a payment service.

## Background

Following news reports about the bankruptcy of a credit card payment processing company, we have received a large number of inquiries from restaurants saying they want a system that lets them accept credit card payments right away.

Credit card payment has now become infrastructure directly tied to a restaurant's sales, and suddenly losing a payment method can seriously affect a store's cash flow and customer convenience. We want to help restaurants in this difficult situation, even in a small way, by providing an environment where they can start accepting credit card payments on the same day they apply.

## What Is "Terminal-less Payment"?

"Terminal-less Payment" is a feature that lets customers pay for their meal after visiting the restaurant using the credit card they registered when making an online reservation, such as through AutoReserve. This makes it possible to accept credit card payments even without a payment terminal in the store.

## Features

![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/bmi51vwo/production/0974f79d5aa986ebdc6131322a89de6600a75da2-1200x675.png)

- No terminal required: Online payment using the credit card registered at the time of reservation. No need to install or set up a payment terminal.

- Available as early as the same day: In the shortest case, restaurants can start accepting credit card payments the same day they apply.

- A backup payment method: With the feature turned on, restaurants can immediately switch to online payment in the event of a sudden terminal malfunction or service outage.

- Smoother checkout: Customers don't need to hand over their card at checkout, allowing for a smooth, quick departure.

## How to Use

1. Contact us via the link below.

1. After the contract is signed, turn on the "Terminal-less Payment" feature from the Respo admin dashboard.

1. Customers register their credit card using the designated method.

1. At checkout, payment is processed using the registered card.

[https://respo.autoreserve.com/ja-jp/contact](https://respo.autoreserve.com/ja-jp/contact?utm_source=prtimes&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=terminal-less-payment)

## For Restaurants Struggling with a Terminal Outage

If you currently need an in-store payment terminal, we can also introduce you to "RespoPay," our payment terminal service with some of the lowest fees in the industry (zero initial cost, zero terminal cost, zero monthly fee, and zero transfer fee).

Please feel free to contact us via the link below.

[https://respo.autoreserve.com/ja-jp/payment-terminal](https://respo.autoreserve.com/ja-jp/payment-terminal?utm_source=prtimes&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=terminal-less-payment)

## Comment from Yuki Hariguchi, CEO of Hello Inc.

"Payment methods are a lifeline that supports restaurants' daily sales. When that lifeline suddenly stops working, we believe it is our responsibility, as a company that owns its own payment infrastructure, to deliver a payment method to as many restaurants as possible, as quickly as possible — even by a single day or a single store. If you're a restaurant facing this kind of difficulty, please don't hesitate to reach out to us."

"Respo," an all-in-one restaurant platform, offers "Terminal-less Payment" to settle bills with the card used at booking

Hello Co., Ltd. hereby announces the official launch of "HelloPay," a payment processing service built on the same infrastructure the Company has relied on to handle over ¥100 billion in annual transactions.

Our lowest-priced plan offers a flat rate of 2.58% across all card brands (industry-leading). Setup fees and transaction fees are ¥0, with go-live possible in as little as 3–4 business days from application. We are also launching a payment terminal offering — bringing Hello Co., Ltd. fully online as a payment processor covering everything from online payments to in-store cashless payments.

[https://pay.hello.ai/](https://pay.hello.ai/?utm_source=prtimes&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=hellopay-release)

### Related Announcement

**Announced Today: RespoPay Achieves Industry-Leading Low Payment Processing Rates**

What can HelloPay's infrastructure actually deliver? The answer is today's simultaneous announcement of RespoPay. By adapting HelloPay for restaurant operations and integrating it seamlessly with Respo, we have achieved an industry-leading rate of 1.88%+ for Visa / Mastercard. RespoPay is proof of HelloPay's power as infrastructure.

▶ RespoPay details: [https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000070.000056009.html](https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000070.000056009.html?utm_source=prtimes&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=hellopay-release)

### Background

Hello Co., Ltd. is a technology company delivering new businesses built on proprietary AI and deep product development expertise. Through the operation of our own services, we have built and maintained a payment infrastructure entirely in-house — one that today processes over ¥100 billion in transactions annually across the Hello Group.

We are now opening this battle-tested infrastructure to all businesses and developers as "HelloPay." The quality comes from using it ourselves every day. The competitive rates come from eliminating unnecessary intermediary margins from our cost structure.

### About HelloFinancial

**HelloPay is the first product from "HelloFinancial," Hello Co., Ltd.'s financial services brand.**

HelloFinancial launches with the vision of delivering fair, low-cost financial infrastructure to every business. Starting with payment processing, we plan to roll out a series of financial services for businesses — combining transparent fee structures with genuine cost competitiveness, all built on infrastructure proven through real-world in-house use.

### About HelloPay

![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/bmi51vwo/production/20b21ff155e40eb4adba5e01e84dff15f6164919-1600x900.webp)

HelloPay is a payment processing service provided by Hello Co., Ltd. Built on an in-house infrastructure that processes over ¥100 billion in transactions per year, HelloPay supports a wide range of payment methods — including credit cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay — as well as both one-time and subscription-based payments, all managed from a single account. In addition to online payment methods via API, SDK, Checkout, and payment links, HelloPay also supports offline in-store payments via dedicated terminals, covering every payment scenario on one platform. Available at industry-leading rates with ¥0 setup cost.

HelloPay is also deployed within our own restaurant platform "Respo" as "RespoPay" — a specialized payment terminal service tailored specifically for restaurant operations.

[https://pay.hello.ai/](https://pay.hello.ai/?utm_source=prtimes&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=hellopay-release)

### Three Strengths of HelloPay

**1. Affordable — Industry-Leading Rates**

Our lowest-priced plan offers a flat 2.58% across all brands: Visa, Mastercard, JCB, AMEX, Diners, and Discover. Compared to standard plans from competing providers, businesses processing ¥100 million per month could save approximately ¥11 million per year (based on Company estimates). Setup fees and transaction fees: ¥0.

**2. Reliable — Infrastructure Proven at ¥100 Billion Scale**

HelloPay runs on the same payment infrastructure that powers Hello Group's own services every day, processing over ¥100 billion in annual transactions. The platform is PCI DSS certified, meeting the international security standards of the credit card industry.

**3. Fast — Live in as Little as 3–4 Business Days**

Visa and Mastercard processing can go live in as few as 3–4 business days from application. A streamlined onboarding process minimizes paperwork, enabling rapid deployment for startups and enterprise-scale businesses alike.

### Features

- **Payment methods** — Visa / Mastercard / JCB / AMEX / Diners / Discover, Apple Pay / Google Pay

- **Integration options** — API, Checkout (embedded), Mobile SDK (iOS / Android), Payment links

- **Platform payments** — Supports multi-tenant payment integration for marketplaces, SaaS platforms, and more

- **Offline payments (terminal)** — Dedicated in-store cashless payment terminal; managed under the same account as online payments

- **Security** — PCI DSS certified; fraud detection, 3D Secure, Webhook notifications, tokenized payments

- **Management tools** — Dashboard for revenue, settlements, and billing; multi-account support

### Pricing Plans

Setup fees and transaction fees are ¥0 across all plans. Choose from three flexible plans based on your business scale.

**Standard Plan** — For businesses with monthly revenue under ¥4 million (default plan upon registration)

- Rate (all brands): 3.20%

- Monthly fee: ¥0

- Setup fee: ¥0

- Transaction fee: ¥0

- Settlement cycle: Once per month

**Business Plan** — For businesses with monthly revenue between ¥4 million and ¥20 million (designed to scale with your growth)

- Rate (all brands): 2.70%

- Monthly fee: ¥15,000

- Setup fee: ¥0

- Transaction fee: ¥0

- Settlement cycle: Twice per month

**Enterprise Plan (Lowest Rate)** — For businesses with monthly revenue over ¥20 million (industry-leading rates)

- Rate (all brands): **2.58%**

- Monthly fee: ¥40,000

- Setup fee: ¥0

- Transaction fee: ¥0

- Settlement cycle: Twice per month

### Comment from Hello Co., Ltd. CEO Yuki Hiroguchi

*"Payment processing fees quietly but surely shape the cost structure of any business. We have spent years building a payment infrastructure that combines reliability with genuine competitiveness through the operation of our own services. That infrastructure is now available to businesses everywhere. At a time when processing rates are trending upward across the industry, we believe HelloPay has never had more to offer. Our mission is to create an environment where businesses can focus on what they do best — and keep more of what they earn."*

### Comment from Daisuke Morikawa, Head of HelloFinancial, Hello Co., Ltd.

*"HelloPay is the first time Hello has opened its in-house payment infrastructure — honed through running our own businesses — to the world outside our group. We use it ourselves, every day, which is why we stand behind its quality with full confidence. And we can deliver that quality at the most competitive price in the industry. That is HelloFinancial's starting line. HelloPay is just the beginning — we will continue to build out financial services that support businesses at every stage."*

HelloPay

Hello Co., Ltd. Officially Launches Payment Processing Service "HelloPay"

Hello Co., Ltd. announces that its payment terminal service for Respo, "RespoPay," has achieved industry-leading low payment processing rates.

The Small Business Plan — available to small and medium-sized businesses — offers rates starting at 1.88% for Visa / Mastercard / UnionPay, while the Standard Plan for general restaurant operators starts at 2.48%. Both plans achieve industry-leading low rates. Setup fees, terminal fees, monthly fees, and transfer fees are all ¥0.

[https://respo.autoreserve.com/ja-jp/payment-terminal](https://respo.autoreserve.com/ja-jp/payment-terminal?utm_source=prtimes&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=respopay)

### Related Announcement

**Announced Today: Hello Co., Ltd. Officially Launches Payment Processing Service "HelloPay"**

RespoPay is able to offer industry-leading low rates because Hello Co., Ltd. owns and operates its own payment processing infrastructure, "HelloPay." On the same day, HelloPay has been officially opened to all businesses and developers outside the Hello Group. RespoPay is the first proof of HelloPay's full potential.

▶ HelloPay details: [https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000071.000056009.html](https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000071.000056009.html?utm_source=prtimes&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=respopay)

### Background

As cashless payments continue to spread rapidly across the food service industry, restaurant operators have long struggled with two persistent challenges: high terminal costs and excessive payment processing fees.

In response, Hello Co., Ltd. has leveraged HelloPay — its proprietary payment processing infrastructure — to deliver industry-leading rates through RespoPay. Terminal hardware is also provided at no cost, directly addressing the challenge of upfront equipment expenses. At a time when payment processing fees are rising across the industry, we are committed to offering restaurants a better option — one that protects their bottom line.

### What Is RespoPay?

RespoPay is a cashless payment service fully integrated into "Respo," the all-in-one platform for restaurants. Reservations, POS, mobile ordering, billing, and payments can all be managed within Respo in one seamless workflow.

**Why HelloPay's infrastructure enables RespoPay's industry-leading rates**

HelloPay is a comprehensive payment processing service covering everything from online payments (API, Checkout, SDK) to offline in-store terminal payments. RespoPay brings all of HelloPay's capabilities to the restaurant floor, fully optimized for day-to-day restaurant operations. Because we own and operate our own payment infrastructure, we eliminate unnecessary intermediary margins — making industry-leading rates possible.

### Industry-Leading Payment Rates *(based on Company research)*

**▼ Small Business Plan** *(for SMBs; conditions apply, including annual cashless transaction volume under ¥30 million)*

- Visa / Mastercard / UnionPay: **1.88%~** (industry-leading)

- JCB / AMEX / DinersClub / DISCOVER: 2.50%~

- PayPay: 2.95%~

- UnionPay QR / WeChat Pay / Alipay: 2.20%~

**▼ Standard Plan** *(for general restaurant operators)*

- Visa / Mastercard / UnionPay: **2.48%~** (industry-leading)

- JCB / AMEX / DinersClub / DISCOVER: 3.15%~

- PayPay: 2.95%~

- UnionPay QR / WeChat Pay / Alipay: 2.20%~

**▼ Comparison with Competitors** *(based on Company research)*

- Visa / Mastercard / UnionPay — RespoPay: **1.88%~** / Company A: 2.28%~ / Company B: 2.50%~

- JCB / AMEX / DinersClub / DISCOVER — RespoPay: **2.50%~** / Company A: 2.38%~ / Company B: 2.50%~

### Pricing

Everything except the processing fee is free.

- Setup fee: ¥0

- Terminal fee: ¥0

- Monthly fee: ¥0

- Transfer fee: ¥0

### Payment Terminal Features *(Go Cashless with a Single Device)*

![](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/bmi51vwo/production/95020ebda5a026cd53fb82e11c1eb56fbf7eb92e-1200x675.webp)

- **Multi-payment support** — Accepts credit cards and QR code payments. One terminal covers all major brands.

- **Built-in printer** — Print receipts directly from the terminal, reducing checkout friction.

- **Pay anywhere** — 4G connectivity means no Wi-Fi needed — take the terminal right to the table. Long battery life included.

- **Intuitive touchscreen** — Large touchscreen display for smooth, stress-free operation.

### Pair with Respo POS for Even Greater Efficiency

When used with the Respo POS register, billing amounts are automatically synced to RespoPay — eliminating manual re-entry and reducing the risk of input errors. By handling reservations, orders, billing, and payments all within Respo, staff workloads are significantly reduced.

### Settlement Cycle

Settlements are processed 2–4 times per month for reliable cash flow management.

- 1st–15th of the month → Transferred by end of the same month

- 16th–end of the month → Transferred by the 15th of the following month

※ Weekly settlement cycles are also available upon request.

### Comment from Hello Co., Ltd. CEO Yuki Hariguchi

*"Restaurant owners shouldn't have to spend their time worrying about payment processing fees. That's the conviction behind RespoPay. Because we own HelloPay — our own payment infrastructure — we can deliver industry-leading rates directly to restaurants without relying on intermediaries. At a time when processing fees are rising across the industry, we have deliberately chosen to go in the opposite direction. Our mission is to create an environment where restaurant operators can keep more of their hard-earned revenue and focus entirely on what they do best: making great food."*

RespoPay Achieves Industry-Leading Low Payment Processing Rates

Sushi Kibatani is a sushi restaurant in Kanazawa where chef-owner Mitsuhiro Kibatani crafts sushi using fish from the Hokuriku region — primarily sourced from Toyama, Himi, and Shinminato — and the techniques of Edomae-style sushi. The restaurant welcomes a remarkably wide range of guests, from those in their 20s to their 80s, and in recent years, local, traveling, and overseas guests have come to visit in roughly equal proportions. At the same time, the restaurant had been facing on-site challenges: the operational burden of phone-based reservations during service, same-day and no-show cancellations, and information management with a paper reservation book. With Respo, reservation handling has been streamlined, cancellation prevention strengthened, and reservation and guest information centralized — establishing a foundation that creates the time the restaurant truly wants to dedicate to cooking and hospitality.

**Challenges Before Adopting Respo**

Sushi Kibatani had been facing the following on-site challenges.

■ The operational burden of phone-based reservations during service

- Each call required back-and-forth conversation — "That time is fully booked," "How about this time instead?" — and it often took considerable time to confirm a single reservation

- During service, the chef frequently had to stop preparation or guest service to answer the phone

- Managing reservations solely with a handwritten paper book added significant confirmation work and required constant attention to avoid mistakes

■ Lost opportunities from turning guests away, and same-day and no-show cancellations

- When the requested date was already full, guests sometimes had to be turned away on the spot. There was no guarantee that such guests would book again later, which represented lost opportunities for the restaurant

- Same-day and no-show cancellations were also a burden — with a limited number of seats, even a single cancellation had a significant impact on the restaurant

**Key Features of Respo**

"Respo" is an all-in-one platform for restaurants provided by Hello Inc. It brings reservation book, channel manager, POS, payment terminals, and mobile ordering together on a single platform, and can be flexibly combined to match each restaurant's scale and business format.

■ What Respo Offers

- Reservation book: Integrates with multiple reservation platforms, eliminating manual transcription from each platform

- Channel manager: Centrally manages inventory across the restaurant's own site and other reservation platforms

- POS / Payment terminals: Complete checkout and payment in a single device, streamlining store operations

- Mobile ordering: Enables guests to order from their smartphone or tablet, reducing wait times

- Guest information management: Accumulates visit history, preferences, allergy information, and more, supporting tailored service for returning guests

**Outcomes After Adopting Respo**

■ Outcome 1: Freed from phone-based reservation handling, creating time to focus on the work at hand

With reservation availability now visible to guests, they can confirm openings and complete their bookings on their own. This has greatly reduced the frequency of "scheduling adjustments over the phone" and "turning guests away when fully booked." During service, the chef is no longer pulled away by phone calls and can focus on preparation, guest service, and the work in front of him — easing the psychological burden as well.

■ Outcome 2: Suppressing cancellations and reliably collecting cancellation fees — eliminating lost revenue

With Respo's cancellation fee pre-authorization mechanism, no-show cancellations have decreased significantly. When cancellations do occur, the restaurant now has a system in place to reliably collect cancellation fees that previously went unrecovered, protecting revenue opportunities. For a sushi restaurant with limited seating, reducing per-reservation opportunity loss brings considerable peace of mind on the business side.

■ Outcome 3: Centralized reservation and guest information, enabling focus on cooking and hospitality

Reservation and guest information, once scattered across paper records, are now managed in one place — making pre-visit preparation significantly smoother. For the growing number of overseas guests in particular, organizing and sharing advance information has become much easier. Internal information sharing among staff has also improved, reducing mismatches and missed confirmations. Service for returning guests has become more attentive, and the time once consumed by information management is now dedicated to what truly matters: the cooking and hospitality the team wants to focus on.

**Comments from Mitsuhiro Kibatani, Chef-Owner of Sushi Kibatani**

We received the following comments from chef-owner Mitsuhiro Kibatani.

> "Reservations are now organized automatically, which has greatly eased my mental load. What I'm most grateful for is no longer having to tell guests 'I'm sorry, that time is fully booked' every time the phone rings, as we used to under the old phone-based system."

> 

> 

> ── Mitsuhiro Kibatani, Chef-Owner, Sushi Kibatani

> 

> "Building relationships with our guests is essential to this business. Reducing the burden of information management means we can devote more time to what we truly want to focus on — the cooking and hospitality. Whenever I share a request for improvement, the team genuinely listens, and I trust they will keep reflecting voices from the field to make the system even easier to use."

> 

> 

> ── Mitsuhiro Kibatani, Chef-Owner, Sushi Kibatani

> 

**Comment from Yuki Hariguchi, Representative Director, Hello Inc.**

> "Sushi Kibatani is one of the restaurants we hold in the deepest respect — a place where each fish from Toyama, Himi, and Shinminato is treated with the utmost care, from the application of salt to the aging process, with the aim of delivering it to guests in its finest form. As Mitsuhiro Kibatani has said, 'It's the small accumulations that ultimately shape the impression of a single piece of sushi.' Craftsmanship like his is honed only when there is time to focus on each detail, one by one.

> 

> 

> We believe that Respo should be more than a tool for efficiency — it should be a foundation that protects the time restaurants truly cherish. We will continue to evolve our product by learning from voices on the ground, so that the time Sushi Kibatani devotes to cooking and hospitality can become ever more meaningful."

> 

**About the Case Study Article**

The full story has been published on the official Respo website as an interview with Sushi Kibatani. We invite you to read it.

▶ Case Study Article: "Protecting the Time to Focus on Craftsmanship: How Sushi Kibatani in Kanazawa Uses Respo"

URL：[https://respo.autoreserve.com/ja-jp/cases/sushikibatani](https://respo.autoreserve.com/ja-jp/cases/sushikibatani?utm_source=prtimes&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=respo-interview-sushikibatani)

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